Their long road stint to start wasn’t as bad as KC’s the year before, but it wasn’t awesome either. But opening BBVA and finishing the season undefeated there was huge in their success both in 2012 and for the future.

Like you said, Dom’s teams seem to be able to overcome adversity in defense and midfield, so losing some key personnel did little to detract from their performance. Personally, I attribute that to Dom’s resourcefulness in player management. Being able to see who fits in best where is something Dom does extremely well. And that’s what happened in 2012.

Having a full season with Clark, Boniek-Garcia, Cummings, and other new players is going to be huge, especially at home. If KC can pull of a conference title after doing much the same thing as Houston, do we see Dynamo as #1 in the East this year? I have to think it’s highly likely.